an incredible 150-car pileup in southeast texas leaves two dead and dozens injured. details just ahead. and generous neighbors from coast to coast pour out their hearts to lp others on thanksgiving, including legendary actor dick van dyke. >> every year there are more and more families. used to be a bunch of old derelicts like me, and now a lot of families and a lot kids and they're getting more and more of them every year so we're hoping things look up. this makes my holiday for me. you've got a lot of love here. >> announcer: this is "early today" for friday, november 23rd, 2012. very good morning to you. i'm veronica de la cruz. it is a black day across america, and retailers couldn't be happier. if you thought last year's black friday was insane, it is even crazier this year and that's because sale-driven shoppers who gave up part or all of their thanksgiving to camp out for hours weren't just waiting around for specials today. after testing the waters last year, more and more big name

stores like target, toys"r"us and walmart opened their doors last night, some as early as 8:00 p.m. it's more than a stunt. the door busting deals are a life line for the brick and mortar businesses banking on the nearly one in five holiday shoppers who they say will take full advantage of this year's head starts on bargains. at stake, more than half a trillion dollars. like those braving the crowds, we are ready to dive right into the middle of the madness. nbc's jay gray is live for us this morning at the mall of america outside of minneapolis. all right. what have you bought so far? >> reporter: i've been too busy to shop. come on, very ron kachlt we'll talk later. maybe i can pick something up for you. we are at mall of america, the biggest mall in the country, black friday in full swing. this is one of those places that started black friday last night.

black friday getting started for many on thursday this year. >> i want a 50-inch tv and a 40-inch. >> why? >> because i don't have one. >> reporter: not everyone is buying into the strategy. >> i think thanksgiving day should be kept for thanksgiving day. >> reporter: for most, this is still friday. >> black friday for every retailer. super bowl of retail. >> essentially everything you've been looking at throughout the year, that is going to be on sale. we'll have it on stock. >> reporter: decide.com says at its best black friday will be fun and games or a real workout. >> all gaming type equipment. consoles, video games, those generally do go down. also fitness equipment. elliptical equipment, treadmilltion, we traditionally see the lowest price for those on black friday.

>> reporter: finding those deals and fighting through the crowds will be a workout as well. holiday exercise that actually started on the holiday this year. this morning it shows no signs of letting up. four levels of shopping fun here at the mall of america and so many people taking advantage. i guess a lot of people want to work off that extra piece of thanksgiving pie by carrying heavy bags and taking a long walk this morning. there are a ton of people here and they're not just looking. they're buying. veronica, back to you. >> jay gray, nice to see you this morning. thanksgiving and academy award winner halle berry's was probably more dramatic than dinner at your place. gabriel aubry, berry's ex-boyfriend, was arrested and hospitalized thursday morning after a disagreement turned physical with berry's fiance, olivier martinez. it all began at around 10:00 a.m. local time when aubry arrived at berry's house to drop off their daughter nahla but

left with fractured ribs and a bruised face. after being released from the hospital, aubry was booked for misdemeanor battery with his bail set at $20,000. tensions have been high for berry and aubry who are locked in a bitter custody battle over 4-year-old nahla. the ceasefire between israel and hamas appears to be holding with both sides declaring victory though tensions remain high in the region as does the level of rhetoric is coming from both sides of the border. nbc's stephanie gosk joins us now live from tel aviv. stephanie, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, veronica. well, our team on the ground in gaza tells us that there was some violence this morning. a 20-year-old was shot and killed by israeli forces on the gaza side of the border. there were ten other teenagers with him who were injured. the israeli defense forces tell us that 300 palestinians sort of tested what they call the buffer zone today at the border between gaza and israel. this is a hundred-foot no-go

zone that the idf has been enforcing. they did not, however, say they knew of any deaths. they said their forces shot in the air and when the palestinians did not move back, they then shot at their feet to get them to move back. it threatens this arguably fragile ceasefire that's been in place now for a little over a day. it's a ceasefire that on both sides has not instilled a lot of optimism. >> stephanie gosk in israel, thank you. now for a look at the weather here is nbc meteorologist bill karins with the weather channel forecast. we had perfect weather for the macy's thanksgiving day parade. >> great show, yeah. >> you're saying it's all over. >> in many areas of the country. unfortunately in the northwest, people were in the rain waiting to get into those stores. it's moved through the olympics and now rolling through seattle down to olympia. it will work its way down to portland, more likely about 10:00 a.m. or so.

with it you'll get periods of heavy rain. temperatures are warm enough, though, it's mostly rain. we expect rainfall, a moderate amount. we won't see a lot of flooding concerns on the river. those levels have gone down since the big storm earlier this week. we're watching the snow mostly in northern portions of the cascades and idaho. the front has a wave on it. it will take a while to pass. you can see the moisture plume well into the pacific. right through saturday and oregon state. definitely a rainy early friday, black friday shopping morning for people in the northwest. no problems in california. thatd oregon we'll watch the steady right rain through much of the

daylight hours. take a look at your weekend forecast coming right up. sounds good. thanks, bill. an incredible sight. 150 cars and trucks mangled over a two-mile stretch. plus a seat even new york jets fans might find amazing. gang green gives up an astounding amount of points in just 12:14.

welcome back. some stories making news this morning. there was a deadly thanksgiving traffic pileup in the fog in east texas. first responders pulled injured survivors out of vehicles in the chain reaction accident that stretched over two miles. nbc's diana alvear has more. >> reporter: once the fog lifted on interstate 10 in texas, the devastation was clear. >> we just heard car after car boom, boom, boom, boom. >> reporter: more than 100 vehicles, some piled on top of one another, mangled, twisted metal.

first responders arrived to chaos. >> you've got a lot of people that were traveling for thanksgiving today. you've got a lot of injured people along the roadways and then people, some of them were still in their vehicles. >> reporter: at least two people died and more than 80 people were transported to area hospitals. off the coast of florida a woman was killed when a massive wave capsized a 45 foot long catamaran that was returning from a scuba diving trip with 23 people on board. one person is in critical condition and three others hospitalized in good condition. american troops headed to afghanistan were served a thanksgiving holiday feast at atlanta's hartsfield airport before they got aboard their flight overseas. the soldiers expressed their thanks to the uso which provided the food. this thanksgiving hundreds of new york victims of superstorm sandy were served thanksgiving dinner with all the trimmings on hard hit staten island, and in new jersey, the salvation army handed out boxes of food and served meals to

sandy victims. well, investors have the day off for thanksgiving, and the ones who aren't out shopping will be back to work today. u.s. markets will be open for a shortened trading session. looking ahead, next week could get off to a bumpy start. seven of the past ten post thanksgiving mondays were down days for the dow. overseas this morning, asian shares were on course for their best gains in two months after manufacturing surveys of the world's biggest economies raised hopes for improving global growth. facebook wants to stop letting users vote on changes to its privacy policies. the social network is concerned about the quantity versus quality of feedback generated by the current setup. the company says users will still be able to weigh in during a seven day comment period. and the u.s. post office is hoping to cash in on the season's bounty of online shopping with same day package delivery. the expedited service will be tested in san francisco next month and if it's successful the program will expand to other big cities like boston, new york and chicago.

some incredible sports highlights are straight ahead, plus just 12 short years ago it was billed as the tallest and fastest wooden coaster, but now no more. we're going to tell you why. weekend forecast is definitely talking about the big chill. all those details coming up. you're watching "early today."

well, good morning. some other stories making news across america now. hundreds of volunteers helped serve thousands of men, women, and children in need of a traditional thanksgiving dinner at the midnight mission in los angeles. it was a festive atmosphere for the diners, many of whom are homeless. legendary actor dick van dyke who helps out every year says serving at the mission makes his holiday. meanwhile, in sacramento, nearly 28,000 runners and walkers took part in the 19th annual run to feed the hungry race. it raises hundreds of thousands of dollars for the sacramento food bank. east and west coasters took to the streets thanksgiving morning in turkey trots. in bethesda, maryland, a turkey character greeted all of the runners. meanwhile, the trotters in san jose were joined by indiana jones and also super mario brothers. check that out. the dining room was full at churchill downs as about 7,000 people feasted on thanksgiving turkey at kentucky's legendary horse track. a few thousand more came out just for the races. in ohio, what was once the

world's tallest and fastest wooden roller coaster came crashing down. the final pieces of king island's son of beast ride had closed permanently in 2009 following an accident that had reportedly injured a woman. and for the second year in a row, a wire fox terrier is america's top dog. oh, look at him. the 4-year-old named sky was named best in show over more than 1500 other dogs in this year's national dog show. well, most americans celebrated the thanksgiving holiday with family, friends, and football. about 68,000 of them are far from home. and even though the new york jets played like turkeys, the team did a very nice thing for some of our soldiers in afghanistan. atia abali has their story. >> reporter: thanksgiving in afghanistan and these u.s. service members are celebrating with some football and the new york jets who have donated jerseys for this ultimate football tournament.

each jersey has a number 12 on it signifying the 12th man letting these service members know that their sacrifices have not been forgotten. >> thank you very much. >> happy thanksgiving. >> out here in the army coming and doing an event like this here in afghanistan, you're surrounded with your military family. >> thanksgiving day, you know, for years i've been playing football in the morning and watching football in the afternoon. that's what this is all about here in afghanistan with all the service members being here. >> happy thanksgiving. >> happy thanksgiving, alexandria, virginia. >> happy thanksgiving chicago. >> happy thanksgiving to my wife. hi, honey. i love you >> from kabul, afghanistan. happy thanksgiving! and the jets made the troops happy, but their fans are another story. in a primetime game seen right here on nbc, new england quarterback tom brady tossed for three touchdowns in an amazing 35 point second quarter scoring

spree in just over 2:00 against the jets. the final, the pats crushed gang green 49-19. redskins quarterback robert griffin iii put on a show connecting on four touchdown passes, and washington held off a late rally to beat the dallas cowboys, 38-31. in overtime, houston's field goal with just over 2:00 left gave the texans a 34-31 victory over detroit. this was the lions' ninth straight loss on thanksgiving day. now to college football, texas rivals faced off as tcu upset the number 16 texas longhorns by capitalizing on four turnovers for a 20-13 win. and some sad news now from puerto rico as doctors declared boxer hector macho camacho clinically brain dead from a gunshot wound to the face tuesday. relatives of the three-time world champion say that he will be removed from life support on saturday. just ahead, "red dawn" redux.

it was the soviets that invaded america last time, but this time a little controversy over the bad guys. plus, having 50 pigeons as pets might not make you the favorite neighbor on your block. you're watching "early today." welcome back to "early today."

welcome back to "early today." let me take you through your weekend forecast. maybe you're going to the stores or just returning. you probably have a wet umbrella

you're putting away in the northwest. it hasn't moved into portland yet, but it will. as we go through the weekend, this front will pass through. snow levels will drop a little bit. it still lingers saturday, especially medford through boise. the colder air tries to move in. by sunday, most of the west is looking better. we should actually see improving weather in seattle as the day goes on, veronica. >> thanks, bill. breaking down part 2 is expected to retain its crown from last weekend with an estimated $45 million. however, newcomer "rise of the guardians" will do strong family business with an expected $32 million. and "red dawn," the remake of the 1984 patrick swayze flick is also releasing this weekend and it features north korean villains invading america. however, the plot wasn't always like that. chinese invaders were originally the big baddies but a shifting film market in the east made the producers digitally change chinese flags into north korean

flags and rerecord original dialogue. producers called the chinese version too much of a hot potato. some celebrities took to twitter to share their thanksgiving traditions. pink showed off her impressive table setting skills. check this out. this is ryan seacrest who had a very flam rouse day. he was taking out the trash. >> do you think he really takes out his own trash? >> i do. i do of the. just like you. >> i'm sure he has someone that can do it for him. but he wanted to be like the rest of us for one dafrnlths from wthr in indianapolis where in fishers, indiana, one man is causing quite a flap in his neighborhood over his 50 pet pigeons. they are certified racing pigeons which he houses in his garage. the problem, the birds' exercise

routine, a daily flyover. when they do their business which several neighbors say is causing a health hazard. neighborhood meetings are set to discuss the fate of all these fowl. i'm veroniy r

n egypt visitors can get a revived glimpse of history. after six years of renovations and the arab spring uprising the tomb of king tut has been

reopened. the u.s. ambassador to egypt received a special tour. the events marks 90 years since the tomb was first discovered. egypt is hoping to boost tourism industry. to mexico city a musical trip to the church. mariachis came together to celebrate the feast day of patron saint cecelia. they marched through the streets in jackets and sombreros before a mass and concert. the journey is carried out every year on november 22nd. one south korean park teaches visitors about a different kind of throne. the park is now home to what is said to be the world's first toilet culture park. statues and educational displays teach visitors the history of toilets and raises awareness about sanitation. the park even has additional exhibits inside of a toilet-shaped building. not every day you see that. >> someone had a little too much

time on their hands and money and engineering skills. you don't even know what to say. >> school trip today. where are you going? >> i'm going to the john. >> exactly right. it is time now for an early look at some of those stories that we are going to follow throughout the day right here on nbc. instead of shopping, many new yorkers will donate their time on black friday to helping out the victims of hurricane sandy. united way of new york city will provide 1,000 thanksgiving turkey dinners for residents of coney island. the first lady will be presented with the official white house christmas tree. something to look forward to. it's going to be displayed in the blue room of the executive mansion. this year the 19 foot fraser fir comes from peak farms in ash county, north carolina. and if you missed the thanksgiving day broadcast of the national dog show, hey, you're in luck. it's going to re-air again tonight at 8:00 p.m. on this nbc station. and all day long you can stay on top of the very latest developments in those stories and others as they break on msnbc.

and tonight be sure to watch brian williams with "nbc nightly news." and, finally, here's a look at what's coming up later this morning on the "today" show. find out if the early start to black friday shopping is paying off for retailers. and a soldier stationed in afghanistan pulls out all the stops to surprise his wife just minutes before the birth of their son. so cool. and now keep it on this channel for continuing local news, weather, sports, and more. i'm veronica de la cruz. thank you so much for watching "early today," just your first stop of the day, today on your nbc station.

new this morning, just into our newsroom, video of the late-night fire that sent a firefighter to the hospital. >> reporter: good morning, i'm